Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Handmade Mermaid

Fiestas and more fiestas! Does this country ever take a break from celebrations? I don't think so... On Saturday I went to a village called Buitrago where a medieval fayre was taking place. Men on horses jousted with cardboard lances. It was like a scene from Tirant lo Blanc but without real violence. Buitrago is a pleasant historical little place...

There was another fiesta in the city of Getafe on Sunday: more people dressed in medieval costume but also fire jugglers and Cuban music. And performance art. A man drew pictures in chalk dust with a vacuum cleaner while another man played avant-garde squeaky saxophone. Huh? I networked with the local Minister for Culture and have been invited to appear at a major conference of fantastic fiction next year.

October already! Lots of projects are coming together, so this should be a busy month for me. As a writer I have a big advantage in that I'm often at my inimitable best and I'm delighted the British Council have decided to accept this fact and support my trip to Lisbon. Courtesy of Livros de Areia the details of my trip are as follows: October 24: reading in a Chiado café; October 25: presentation at the British Council's HQ; October 26: presenting the book at FNAC Colombo. Further information here... I believe also that Pedro Marques will be in possession of the original drawings and paintings of my illustrator, Paulo Barros, one of the best mermaid artists ever!